Rarely Known Technique to Deal With Cold Sores!

I woke up this morning, getting ready for work and prior to stepping into the shower I felt that tell tale pressure build sensation on my lip. Oh no! It's gotta be a cold sore. Checking in the mirror, dammit...yes a cold sore in its infancy. I knew exactly how to tackle this annoyance with the help of some Olive Oil (not Popeye's two timing girlfriend!).

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Step 1: Getting the Tools Ready.

I used a tiny amount of olive oil in a spoon. I actually put too much into the spoon, far less is actually needed. I also used an applicator in the form of a butter knife.

Step 2: Heating.

Using a burner on the stove, I ignited and set it on the lowest heat. I put the oil carrying spoon over the flame for 30 seconds. It's important not to spill any oil else fire! If you have twitchy hands then please heat the oil spoon with a soldering iron or let someone else do it for you.

Sorry if I'm not sounding technical here with respect to final oil temperature. Perhaps next time I will use my thermal camera to measure the oil temperature. Imagine using the science and art of thermography to help stop cold sores! That WILL be a first of its kind application in the world

Step 3: Applying the Oil.

Applying the heated oil using the butter knife, I put a few touches of the not too hot oil onto the sore. The aim here is to have the oil as hot as tolerable but without causing a burn. The amount on the butter knife is very very small and it's a good idea to do a quick touch onto the sore for testing purposes. Once the temperature is not scalding, just a few touches onto the sore and its over!

Two hours later the sore began receding into the depths of hell from whence it came.

I have used this techinque all my life and it plain works. Very few people even know this solution exists but I wanted to share with you all who experience these from time to time. Mind you, my last sore was 5 years ago.

Take care my readers and have a great work week, I know I will (wink!).

Thanks OP, I'll have to try this. I'm a carmex junkie whenever I feel an itch on my lip, but I will give this a try. In return here's a few of my own:

In the cold/allergy section of drug stores look for a bottle called Ocean. It's a salt water spray that you squirt into your nose as you inhale. I've been using this for a couple years when I feel a sinus infection or cold coming on. Similar but much easier than a netty pot or other forced sinus rinse.

For bad cuts that a bandaid won't hold, try superglue. Hold the wound closed and apply a bead of glue over it, wait for it to harden and viola! all better. It only holds the wound closed for 12 to 24 hours, not long enough for it to heal, so keep some glue on you to reapply when it busts back open. I used this trick once for a nasty razor type cut on my index finger. The cut made doing anything with my index finger very painful. The glue sealed it so well that I no longer felt any pain.

This is good information i will use someday. But I rarely get cold-sores. I will add it to my knowledge of how to stop headcolds: ANYTIME your throat feels "dry & scratchy" especially at night waking up to go to bathroom... spray a little spritz of mouthwash (antiseptic kind) into your throat. Go back to bed. When you wake up, throat is fine and cold was stopped! It works 95 times out of 100. AND my EAR-ACHE cure: AS SOON as you notice your ear being a LITTLE painful, just use a Q-tip to apply any antibiotic salve to the painful area. Hydrogen peroxide works too OR alcohol. Apply it several times in the day. Keep the ear warm by placing a pillow over the ear while sleeping. This stops the ear-ache before the ear becomes totally inflamed THEN a doctor visit is needed. The trick to ALL of these (and your) remedy is to catch it and treat it so it doesn't become MUCH worse. Good Instructable!